eMagazine, Gearphoria, Give the Cali76-CD Top Marks!
Well respected eMagazine, Gearphoria, have published a glowing review of our flagship compact compressor, the Cali76 Compact Deluxe, in their latest issue. Blake Wright gives the 76-CD the award of “Serious Mojo” on their Mojo Meter and reignites his love for compressor pedals when plugging into the Cali76.
We’ve re-published the review for you or you can read it on Gearphoria.com here: http://www.gearphoria.com/e-mag/v4n6/#72/z
Sonic screwdriver Origin pint-sized its lauded Cali76 compressor… with great results
By Blake Wright
CONFESSION: It took me a while to ‘get’ compressors. Not that the principle itself is difficult, but early on I was in a place musically where it didn’t see use for one. Why squish anything? Let it breathe, man… Let it breathe! Didn’t The Beatles sing that back in the early 70s? Admittedly, my first run-in with a stompbox compressor didn’t do much to sway me. It was a non-descript pedal that made everything sound lifeless and far away, killing the amp’s natural oomph. Then, it happened. One day jamming with friends I was re-introduced to the compressor — a good one, and just like Aladdin, I was in a whole new world.
A good compressor isn’t a one tone pony, it’s a sonic tool that allows for specific shaping of audio hills and valleys creating something more alive and immediate. A great compressor does all of these things, and still allows your amp’s natural sound to sing through.Meet the Origin Effects Cali76-CD (or Compact Deluxe) — a great compressor. UK-based Origin has been around since 2011, making a name for themselves with the ability to capture the studio quality of the lauded Universal Audio 1176 Compressor in pedalform. The first Cali76, equipped with a Lundahl transformer, was a pretty sizable piece of kit. An excellent compressor, but a real estate hog when placed on the old pedalboard. A Cali76 Compact followed in a smaller footprint, but at the cost of the loss of some controls.
This Cali76 Compact Deluxe shoe horns the flexibility and function of the original Cali76 into an enclosure not much bigger than a Boss pedal, and it adds a Dry knob control. The Dry control is important because it allows the user to mix in dry signal from the guitar with the compressed signal of the effect. The result is a retention of dynamics not usually found with compressors that lack the blend feature.Plugged in, the Cali76-CD brings your amp tone to life. It has a blooming impact, even at lower volume settings, that expands the overall sound without compromising the amp’s natural tendencies. The pedal’s touch response also is dynamic and smooth. The beauty of an 1176-inspired circuit is that you can really give it what for and it barely flinches. The pedal sports an eye jewel that changes color to let the user know when compression is being applied. With a lot of pedal compressors, you wind up slamming them into huff-and-puff submission at higher compression settings.
The Cali76 CD is fast, clean and up to the task. The pedal will set you back almost $400, but it delivers on every penny, especially if you are in the market for a studio-quality, pedalboard-friendly compressor. If that’s you, your search should begin with the Cali76 CD. It will likely end there too.
